By ANNE GIBSON property editor
The rejection of Westfield's five-storey "airbridge" in Newmarket is one of two major blows for the development.
The other is a thumbs-down from planners for realignment of a street at the other end of the 4.3ha mega-mall site.
The proposal to re-route Mahuru St at the Southern Motorway end of the site has been rejected by Auckland City Council planners Karen Bell and Bruce Young, authors of a report which goes to a full council meeting tomorrow night.
Westfield wanted to bend the rules at both ends of its site, so it could attract bulk retailers who demand cube-shaped spaces.
Westfield got planners' approval for only one of its three proposals, an application to build a 25m-long airbridge over Nuffield Lane.
But its plan to realign a surrounding street has been declined, along with the proposal for a five-level airbridge stretching 110m above Nuffield St.
The giant flyover would have had three levels of shops and two levels of carparking, although traffic would still be able to move along Nuffield St below.
A new general policy should be set for airbridges and underpasses in Newmarket, the council's planners recommended in their report.
"An integral part of Westfield's development is the construction of an airbridge over Nuffield St and Nuffield Lane and realignment of Mahuru St," the report said.
But the application had urban design and streetscape issues for Newmarket.
"The proposal is described as a bridge," the planners said.
"Yet in its current form, it is a retail bridge rather than a people bridge."
They cited other pedestrian bridges, such as the Albert St flyover linking the Downtown Shopping Centre to the Downtown Carpark and the Auckland University pedestrian overpass.
Problems with the airbridge were its height, width and length, its dominance over a public street, loss of trees, the tunnel effect, blocking natural light, shading and removal of a public place.
But the planners did approve Westfield's proposal to build over Nuffield Lane, a service alleyway behind some Broadway shops.
They said Westfield's proposal to build over the railway line through Newmarket would create a half-kilometre tunnel.
"Council staff have discussed with New Zealand Railways Corporation the region's need to maintain flexibility for the future operation of the rail network and the location of stations in the area," the report said.
"NZRC has also been briefed on the technical difficulties associated with enclosing this section of the rail corridor in Newmarket."
The council also noted Westfield's point that an off-ramp from the north-bound lane of the Southern Motorway would need to be built.
* Contact Anne Gibson at 09 373-6400 ext 8657; e-mail anne_gibson@herald.co.nz
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